


Uneasy Alliance

by Merfilly



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Dark Magic, Other, Possibly Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-01-16 08:38:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1339039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys are kidnapped, leading to some interesting team-ups to get them back. Only... all of their lives will change now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this ages ago, in several parts. I honestly would like to know if there is any interest in my trying to flesh it out beyond this abrupt ending.
> 
> The Underage warning is for the implication that Dinah and Babs fall into something with Babs much younger.

One eye watched the trouble walk in; no doubt she was there for the same reason he was. He had learned, in the midst of his dealings with the young heroes that called themselves the Teen Titans, that she had some kind of relationship, a big sister or almost mother thing, to their archer.

"Shit, it's Black Canary," one of the many thugs in the room said, drawing more nervous shiftings and attempts to be nondescript. 

"I see you people haven't forgotten me," the small blonde in fishnets said with a pointed look at one of the bigger fish to fry in this pub.

The man at the back of the pub watched one idiot actually pull a knife, very near her. She didn't even bat an eyelash, kicking out and striking the knife away, before following through with her other foot, a sharply heeled shoe pressing his throat in as she pinned him to a wall. It was off balance, and a good fighter could have taken her from there easily, but he effect…he had to admit she had showmanship.

"What do you want in here?" The bartender figured he would cut to the chase.

"Just information." She eased her foot off the much larger man she had pinned and casually walked over, hopping up on the bar between two low–rent henchmen. "Hi, Needles…Bonzo."

"Hey Canary," they said reluctantly, though somewhat surprised she still remembered them.

"Either of you two know anything about a recent kidnapping?" she asked, her voice sweet and friendly. "Seems I remember you helped that Woodrue fellow abduct those girls that one time."

Now the one-eyed man was intrigued. Surely the known vigilante did not think anyone in this dive would just answer her outright.

"Wasn't none of us, Canary. We're not bringing the Bat down on us over two scrawny boys, not for any amount of money." This came from one of the weedier information brokers, and the woman focused on him.

"Where was the money offering from…Treat?" She pegged his name, and it made the broker wince.

"Someone up Metropolis way," he offered. When she nodded and scanned the bar, a few people nodded back to her, figuring it would save them the trouble of finding a street doc later.

"Any of you hear a word…get it to Treat. And if Treat or my buddies here get hurt…just ask them what I did when I lived here, if you need a refresher on how I work." She slid down off the bar and walked back out, casually flaunting the fine figure she cut in leather and fishnets.

* * *

She made her way to a known contact for the gangs out of Metropolis, feeling the unease that someone had followed her from the pub. She had brazened through that on the strength of her reputation, pleased for once to find so many repeat offenders from her days mopping up Gotham's filth. The problem was that Gotham had only gotten darker, more dangerous since she lived here.

Which, she reasoned, was why she had started working this case to begin with. Arrow had sworn blind he and Batman could handle it, they would find the missing boys, bring them home safe. 

She had let them go, and then hit the backside of Gotham an hour behind their hard-handed approach at a higher level of villainy. And now she had picked up a tail, one she could only barely tell was there.

Maybe she was onto something the infamous Bat had missed. Or maybe someone wanted to make a name for themselves. She began moving to invite a takedown, hoping to lure the person in and make them overconfident.

She felt him a moment before his hand covered her mouth and he drew her into a shadowed alcove, turning her to face him. She saw a white haired man with a missing eye covered by a patch, his facial hair limited to a small goatee, and a look of amusement as he covered his lips.

"You're working the Grayson and Harper case." he commented. "I might have a little help to throw your way," he added.

"And you would be?"

"A friend of the boys. I've met them a few times," he said, his speech layered with multiple meanings. Her eyes narrowed.

"And how in hell am I supposed to trust you?"

"You can let yourself trust me, and the two of us find those boys faster," he promised her. "Or don't, and I can just leave you to the ones you did notice following you…they think you're too close already."

"I can handle myself." Still, at this point, with the boys missing at just over twenty-four hours, any help would be appreciated. If this guy was some villain, on a kick because some other bad guy touched 'his' hunting ground, she was sure she could figure a way to beat him at the game. If he was an ally of theirs, then his skill at eluding her detection might just come in handy.

"Suit yourself," he answered her, starting to move away. She reached out, a hand catching his shoulder.

"I'll work with you…but I do need a name."

"Just call me Wilson," the man said. "Slade Wilson."

* * *

The blonde fighter was proving to be a natural at picking up the trail hidden in the underbelly of Metropolis, Slade noted. She had an intriguing way of working, part beat cop, part tough chick, that certainly seemed to make the few fights she got in even more interesting for him to watch. The first time he took one of her opponents was the last; she had smacked him in the back of the head and pointedly said she could watch her own back.

He half wondered if she would have been so bold if she actually knew who he was, what his reputation was. By the end of their third night together in Metropolis, he had decided it really would not have mattered. Harper had a very gutsy woman looking out for him, even if she was only a few years older than the kids they were seeking.

He had parted from her, each doing a recon in their own method, on the fourth night. The leads so far were pointing toward a strange and low-key cult, one that had been linked to abductions in the past, but never two as high profile as the wards and heirs of industrialists like Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen. 

When they met at their agreed upon time and place, Dinah's eyes were lit.

"There's a house, outside the city limits…a lot of the thugs in the local area have worked out there recently," she said, barely able to sit on the edge of the bed in one of the two motel rooms they were using as a base of operations. Her words confirmed what his own sources had confirmed to him.

"Looks solid," he said, walking toward her. She bounced up with all that energy, a bright creature just spoiling for a fight. "Canary, let me say thank you. You shaved a few days off my schedule to find them," he told her, watching as momentary confusion crowded that hyper alertness out of her eyes.

"You've been great…" she got out before his fist caught her just right, knocking her cold and back on the bed.

"Sorry, kid, but you're too bright eyed to conscience what I'm going to do if they've hurt the boys," he said, shifting her more comfortably on the bed, and removing a syringe from his belt. He uncapped it, slid it home in her pale skin, and injected the knockout drug. "There; you should sleep until I'm long gone, kid." He policed the syringe and cap, then strode out and made his way to the destination.

* * *

Batman had counted at least thirteen individuals, and was moving in closer when he felt his attention be drawn to a deeper shadow…one that moved.

"Your boy, the other kid…both inside. Magic ritual being set up," a low, gravelly voice carried to his ears, before the orange and blue clad mercenary stepped into view.

"Deathstroke." The name was a curse and a growl, all in one. "Give me one reason…"

"It's Grayson. If you know who I am, then you know the kid is marked by me, in certain circles." 

Batman had indeed heard that rumor…and he hated it deep down where he kept his emotions locked away. Robin was his, and not some unethical Black Ops project like Slade's. Regardless of how Robin reacted every time the Titans crossed Slade's path.

"We go in and get him and his friend out, then you go the other way." He did not have time to put Slade out of commission; his partner had been missing too long already.

"Where's the Archer?" Deathstroke asked, not liking that Bats had made it here so soon, and not wanting to deal with another costume not in the know about the deal.

"Checking a separate lead, in case this one was false," Batman said evenly.

"Alright." The two men made their way in, bypassing the security they found, each working efficiently and bloodlessly to dispatch those they found. Slade would not do anything to endanger Dick's life at this point, and did not trust the Bat to not turn and fight him if he started killing. Later would be a good enough time for vengeance.

They found that there were far more than the thirteen or so Bruce had seen, making movement difficult, as they were running out of places to hide unconscious bodies. Fortunately, the sound of chanting was a likely location for the boys; chanting was never good, in either one's opinion.

Neither was screaming, especially high pitched screams that took on a note of terror and pain.

In Dick's voice.

The two men quit being as worried about one another and moved in synchronicity, bursting into the ritual chamber to see the original thirteen Bruce had counted, one of who was standing in front of Dick, holding a large ceremonial blade. All either rescuer could see was that face, eyes obscured behind shaggy, lank bangs, and the blood dripping on the floor, as the cultist obscured his body. Almost as an after image, they took in Roy staring at Dick from a different angle in pure horror.

Slade did not think at the conscious level. Every fiber of his hyper charged brain went into solving how to kill every single person in the house, minus his uneasy ally and the two boys, even as he was moving. Batman followed the charge, using his batarang to cut a struggling Roy Harper down from the pole he had been secured to. 

Three passes, and the man with the knife was dying slowly, Dick was folded in a ball on the floor, and Slade was standing guard. 

"Cover him," Slade commanded, but something in his voice arrested Batman's attention. As the mercenary held off all comers, Batman knelt and removed his cape to cover the bleeding, nude, teenaged girl's body…and did a double take. "Boy!" Slade's voice snapped Harper out of his shock. "Can you run?"

"Yes sir!" he replied, almost mechanically to Slade's voice of command.

"You get Grayson and Harper out," Slade growled. He looked at the shock troops of the cult, the brainwashed masses of followers, pouring in. Batman did not argue; Roy stayed right on his heels as he carried Grayson back out. They had barely made the full edge of the yard before the house blew up and threw them forward.

"Whoa." Harper stared at the blazing house, then back at his best friend, who wasn't a boy anymore. Dick was cold to the touch, bleeding, and very much a girl now.

"Indeed." Batman had a sneaking suspicion he had not seen the last of Slade, and that when Dick woke, there were going to be complications of a serious magnitude.

* * *

Dinah woke to a splitting headache, and an empty room. She cursed and jumped to the phone, calling the contact number Batman had given her. When Ollie picked it up, with a hushed voice, she was relieved, especially when she told him he had Roy, and was coming home. She promised she would be there soon, and hung up. With a glare around the motel room, she promised herself the next time she saw this Slade Wilson fella, she'd give him a proper ass kicking.

* * *

Roy was asleep on the couch, but not sleeping well. Ollie had done all he could to reassure the boy, but whatever he had seen was tearing him up from the inside out. Dinah coming in was the most welcome sight he had ever seen.

"He's asleep right now. Bats wouldn't say much, other than it was a cult that snatched them." Ollie ran his hand over his hair. "I know you went looking; thanks," he said.

"He's just a kid, Ollie; of course I went looking." She walked over to the couch and sat down on it, waking Roy with the motion. "C'mere, Boy-o," she murmured, running a light hand over his red hair. He started to pull away, suspicious of her still as the dame that stole a lot of Ollie's time, but she looked so sincere, so concerned…and he needed someone. With a slow uneasy move, he shifted to put his head on her lap, closing his eyes as she stroked his hair.

"Care to talk now?" Ollie asked softly, dragging a chair over.

"Dick and me, we were in Metropolis. He had wanted to introduce me to these friends he had on the Planet's staff." He started to shake, and Dinah moved her hand over his hair again, soothing him. "We never made it to the Planet. They took us, told us we'd make suitable cash cows."

"Yeah, got the demand the day after I headed out to search for you," Ollie said. "Bats said the chances of us getting you back if we paid were very slim."

"Yeah." He shuddered violently, and Dinah looked in concern at Ollie, feeling there was a lot more to be said. Ollie shrugged helplessly, leaving Dinah to lay a gentle hand on the boy's cheek.

"You don't have to talk about it, Boy-o. But I've always found, in the past, that it helps to share a burden." She met his eyes as he rolled to look up at her. She might be Ollie's dame, but she was awful pretty, and very sweet to him.

"They turned my best friend into a girl. Said his bloodline was the right one, but that he needed to be a she," Roy started, and proceeded to explain it all to them, while Dinah snuggled him close and made sure he felt safe. The teen was shaken enough to accept the coddling, eventually relaxing back into silence, his head on her thigh still, her hand never leaving him in its gentle petting. She met Ollie's eyes, and sighed softly.

"You call Bruce, let him know; I doubt his …kid had the right presence of mind to tell it." She looked back at Roy. "I think…it might be best if you let me stay a few days. He's not taking it well, and as much as I love you, you can be emotionally dense."

Ollie snorted. "No surprise there, Pretty Bird," he admitted. He then smiled roguishly. "And I'd love for you to move in."

"A few days," she warned.

"Of course."

* * *

Bruce hung up the phone with his best friend, and walked over to where his young sidekick was laying huddled under a blanket.

"Your friend, Speedy, told the Canary and Arrow why they did this," he said gently. He found it hard to look into those blue eyes, so lost and scared. "I'll get Jason Blood, Dr. Fate, even Zatanna to come take a look at the transformation."

"Bruce…" He stopped; his voice had recently begun cracking into a baritone, but this…it was very much a girl high voice.

"We'll fix this!" Bruce gathered the…girl close, holding her and trying to reassure her. "I won't let you down, Di…Robin."

* * *

Robin toyed with her costume, looking at it one more time. She then looked at the vicious mottling of bruises along her arms, her legs, could feel the ones along her back still.

Yesterday she had turned seventeen. And gotten the worst beating of her life. 

And Batman had told her no more.

She could not tell which part of that had hurt her the worst. Batman dissolving their partnership, making her give up everything he had trained her to be. Or the fact that he would never admit it was Bruce's fear for her that made him do it. 

Just like Bruce would never admit that life with a girl under his roof had been too complex. Complex in the terms of budding sexualities and hidden desires.

Robin fought the urge to scream. The wish to cry for what was lost, for what she could never have from the man she…

She cut her thoughts off, and stole silently out of the manor.

Batman wouldn't notice she was missing until the next day, and Alfred was just vexed enough not to point it out.

* * *

As always, when Robin had a problem, she went to her home away from home. She knew her best friend or his guardian would take her in, arms wide open, and not call the manor.

It was Barbara, surprisingly, that opened the door and let her in. The girl redhead of the extended hero community in Gotham flashed a smile at the slightly younger Robin.

"I know, I know, if asked, I never saw you," Barbara told her friend. She slipped on out of the modest apartment, calling a farewell over her shoulder. Robin went inside, to see Roy was patiently stitching a long cut on Dinah's side.

"Looks gruesome," Robin said, coming over to sit near them. Dinah flashed her a tight smile, trying to ignore the irritation of Roy poking her with a needle.

"Small knife fight. I forgot my knife," Dinah teased, trying to keep a light tone. 

"Di, shut up. Makes you squirm." Roy glanced briefly at his best friend. Moving to Gotham had required a lot of adjusting, but had led to a much stronger friendship with the girl. Dinah had done damn good by Roy, ever since she had kicked Ollie's ass over him, and promptly left the archer, taking Roy and moving back to her childhood home. Roy had cleaned up under her care, reassured her that it was not her fault he had gotten hooked on heroin. The stupidity of that rested fully on Ollie's shoulders, for failing him as a mentor and his father figure. After all, Dinah had been busy trying to earn enough money to support the three of them with her business, once Ollie's millions had been taken from him in court.

"You've been helping at the clinic," Robin said, noting the small stitches Roy was using.

"Beats a lot of other community service." Part of Roy's getting clean had included community service, and he had never stopped, getting pulled into Gotham's needs like his guardian.

"So who did you and Athena tangle with, Canary?" Robin asked, despite herself.

"Ventriloquist. Again. He resents us femmes cutting in on the action, apparently."

"I said, shut it. Robin, don't encourage her," Roy growled. "She's damned ticklish enough to make this hard." The archer tied off another stitch and started again. "So, heard about Killer Croc and Clayface. Is that why you're here?"

Robin sighed softly. "He fired me. Said I couldn't be Batgirl anymore." At Dinah's hissed intake of breath, Roy growled…or at least that might have been the reason.

"Shit, Robbie," Roy said softly. "Wanna crash here with us?" 

"I'd like that." She was foundering, lost on one level, but in this house where mask and costume overlapped public lives, it was hard to pity herself. She understood the reasons for the secrecy in Batman, in Robin Haly's life as Bruce Wayne's second ward, following the tragic death of Dick Grayson. It was just hard to handle, when these two made little effort to hide who they were, and it was just an open secret among the customers at the Drake Flowers and Gift shop that the woman who owned it was a cape. 

"Questioning who you are now?" Dinah asked softly as Roy tied the final stitch. He started applying a bandage, letting her handle Robin's revelation.

"That. What do I do now? And…the other." Robin's whole body shrug turned into a nervous pacing, as she could not keep still any longer. All three understood that 'other'. It was the pink elephant in the room every time Robin and Bruce were around each other. Robin had confided her situation to Roy; Dinah had guessed it late one night when a volatile Robin had exploded over a minor incident with Catwoman.

"The other will never be resolved, unless Bruce is given a reason to wake up and see you're an adult," Dinah told him, completely missing the look Roy carefully hid by turning aside. "As for who you are? Honey, you've had a hell of a ride, and I'm half tempted to ride over there and stomp him flat," she said. "Bad enough to lose Dick, then Robin as a hero…now Batgirl? I want to hurt him badly. But none of those identities change who you are to yourself."

"But who is that?" Robin asked, frustrated, though touched she wanted to do that. "Who am I, other than a girl who used to be a boy who has some obscure prophesy about a child of my blood hanging over my head?"

"You're my best friend." Roy sat back from taking care of Dinah's wound, turning aside as she sat up to pull a shirt back on. "You're a girl who has trained since she was ten to be a hero. Trained from birth in one of the most demanding physical jobs out there. You are heiress to one of the largest single fortunes in the States. You're a Titan…hell, you're the leader!"

"A Titan with no identity to protect my civilian one," Robin pointed out. "I can't be bare faced like you two. Like Barbara, I have to protect my family."

"Yes…but Robin…you're not defined by him. He says you can't be Batgirl…then make yourself a name he can't lay claim to, arrogant son of a bitch he is," Dinah said fervently.

"But what?"

* * *

Two weeks of no sidekick at the Bat's side. A single eye narrowed with satisfaction at that. Granted, when Robin vanished, it had been to introduce a new cape, one called Batgirl. A smile came with that memory. The girl had gotten to a point where the Bat could not hide his female accomplice's gender.

Something told him this time was different. A Roma child had grown up to a point that the Bat could no longer fly with her. And, if the profile he had carefully constructed ran true to form, Batman had likely alienated the girl in the doing.

It was time for Deathstroke to renew acquaintances with his Robin.

* * *

Starfire watched their leader move in the form fitting blue and black. The way it moved with her was…distracting…but that was playing to their advantage in the current fight. When it was all over and done, Robin was pleased with both the costume's flexibility and the new techniques Richard Dragon had been teaching her.

"I really need to tell Superman thank you," she told Speedy as they fell in together. Roy kept his own need to say thank you to himself; he was not going to make Robin uncomfortable by being obvious over ogling her lines in the new costume.

"So, Nightwing, huh? It suits you." Roy grinned as Kory came over.

"It was good to see you return to us," she said warmly, hugging Robin close. "You will stay the rest of the weekend?"

"I…yeah, I'll just go home with Speedy when it's over." Her words got a flash of amusement from the alien, who could see far more in Roy's protective nearness than Robin seemed willing to admit or notice.

"Let's get back to the tower, then," Jericho signed, watching the way the dynamics were shifting, as team members reacted to Robin's new costume, independence, and identity. He wondered just how it would all shake out, when Roy would not put himself forward, and Kory looked all too willing to do so.

"Let's."

* * *

The alert came in five minutes after Deathstroke turned up on the doorstep, looking like hell and bleeding. Jericho's lips were pursed tight, but he had agreed to the need to find out just what had put his father in such a state. When the alert sounded that Kobra had taken over a subway station and was issuing demands, Jericho's eyes narrowed. He knew his father tended to live in New York now that things with his mother were so damaged, and it was just feasible that his story of a double cross on a contract was true.

The team pulled together to go cope with Kobra. When Slade pushed to his feet, Jericho started to protest, but they really could not leave him in the Tower.

"I'll watch him," he signed to the rest, grabbing the medical kit and sliding under his father's arm. He finished tending the wounds en route, body language letting Slade know that he was not happy. Slade merely ignored it, scanning the team before battle, and noting the costume his Robin now wore. He had timed his arrival just right, it seemed, having planned to work into the team and lure Robin back. Now he would be with Robin from the beginning, and show the girl his interest slowly.

* * *

Dinah glared at Bruce, glad the kids were gone…except Barbara who was tucked away in the bedroom. She hoped her sidekick stayed there, as she did not want to get into an ethics debate with Bruce on her own personal life.

"Where is she?" Bruce asked, after the curt greetings and her letting him come inside.

"Titans." Dinah handed him a glass of water, and sat down on the couch while he paced.

"She…"

"Has chosen to continue, despite your stupidity," Dinah cut in. "Clark helped her out, told her a Kryptonian folk tale, and she went with it."

"So she has been living here?" That made Bruce feel some relief as he met Dinah's eyes, refusing to acknowledge her baiting words.

"Of course, Bruce…I'm not letting that girl live alone just yet." The smaller woman gave a sigh of irritation. "Why? Why take it from her?"

"She…I couldn't face the thought of her…" Bruce slowly came and sat on the floor in front of Dinah. "She got hurt. I might have been a little more…stringent than necessary." 

She carded her fingers through his hair, knowing good and well it was weighing heavy on him to actually show her the turmoil he was feeling. "Bruce, you know I don't think there is anything wrong with…"

"Don't. We discussed this. It's not appropriate." He tensed all over, even more than he had been, drawing another sigh from her.

"Right." She worked his neck gently. "You need to find some way to make it up to her."

"I…I will, Dinah." Bruce shook himself, then slowly rose. "Keep me informed?"

"Always." She rose behind him, then slipped around and hugged him tight. "You might be an idiot, but you're a good man, deep down."

He chuckled. "You can be so charming," he said with a teasing touch of sarcasm, stroking her hair. "Be safe, Dinah." He let himself out, and Dinah nodded.

"Just open up to her," she whispered once he was gone. She knew it was hopeless, as she returned to bed and her own much younger lover.

* * *

Roy's teeth ground together as he passed the gym. He could hear them in there, again. Nightwing, his best friend, and the sociopath known as Deathstroke. In six weeks, since Slade Wilson had come to them for help, the man had proved time and time again to be a solid ally, seemingly committed to helping the Titans train, to helping them deal with the problems they faced.

And to spending most of his time with Robin Haly, the former Batgirl, now turned Nightwing. It would drive Roy to drink, but then Dinah would kick his ass.

It had been bad enough when Kory had been prowling around her. Roy could endure that; the alien princess was not a threat on a global scale. But regardless of Slade's 'reformed' status, it remained that he was a murderer.

Why couldn't Robin see she was being played?

* * *

Slade followed through on the throw, watching the girl between the seconds as she tried to recover, knowing he was going to end this over her, immobilizing her. He could see her trying to adapt, trying to ready herself…

…but the end result was the same as the last five times they had sparred. No matter how she tried, she could not counter that particular throw, and he had her wrists over her head, pinning her with his body. He never pressed the point, but the way she panted had less to do with exertion and far more to do with the way he looked than she cared to admit. 

She knew she was skating a dangerous line. Bruce still was not talking to her on any kind of truly personal level, for all she had moved back to the manor. Here was a man that had the same level of competence, the same self-assurance, the pure…masculinity that attracted her to Bruce, paying extra attention to her training, shaping her into a better leader, someone better able to protect the team, as he always told her.

Robin couldn't get him out of her head at night, not even at the manor.

The fact he only ever touched her in training, or on mission, only heightened the growing attraction. It fueled her illicit daydreams, to imagine what he was holding back, when that one eye would fall so strongly on her in the common rooms.

* * *

Canary cursed violently as Speedy missed the critical shot, and Athena was unable to move in time. It hurt to move the way she forced herself to, getting between her partner and the charging goon, a sharp Cry cutting his knees out, but his momentum carried him into her, and they both went down. The owl-masked redhead launched a smoke pellet to confuse the remaining goons, giving Dinah time to untangle, and for Speedy to get his head back on the fight.

As angry as Canary was, the rest of the fight took ten minutes at most.

"Three patrols in a row, Speedy," Canary growled. "What the hell is your problem?!"

Athena backed nervously away as the small blonde faced off on her longtime companion, the other redhead in her life.

"Canary…" He gritted his teeth, biting back an angry retort. "Sorry."

"As soon as the cops show, you and me are having a roof top confidential," Canary snarled, but she relented her angry tone at the misery behind his domino. "Boy-o…"

"Five oh arriving," Athena said, fading into the shadows. Speedy went with her, leaving Dinah to make time with the cops on duty to pick up the mess they had made. Both junior partners wound up grinning at the way she flirted outrageously, flattering the police and making sure they stayed firmly friendly to her team. It was a far cry from the Bat's modus operandi.

"You going to be okay?" Athena asked Speedy.

"Yeah…just should have talked to her a few weeks back, instead of stewing on it," Roy said.

"I think I'll clear out tonight, then. Surprise Daddy by being home when he gets in," she giggled.

Speedy smiled. "Thanks, little sister," he teased. She wrinkled her nose at him.

"So not getting into the wrongness of any family names used between the three of us." She fired off a line and left, just as Canary patted the cuter cop on the butt and sent them on their way, much to the cop's delight. Canary returned to her partner, noted Athena's absence, and nodded.

"Let's go get the bikes."

Half an hour later, Dinah was lounging in a hot bath as Roy used the shower closet. She kept the curtain pulled, and sighed when he cut the water off.

"Sorry about the crappy job I've been doing, Di," he began, wrapping a towel on to lean on the counter.

"What's going on in that head of yours to make you miss?" 

"Robin." The single name came out in a growl of frustration, and Dinah had to bite her lip; what she thought she had been seeing was very evident in that growl.

"What now, Boy-o?"

"I…I think Slade Wilson is trying to seduce her, and she…she's playing right into it. He hits so many similarities to Bruce…"

Dinah's breath caught in her throat; she remembered the charismatic man all too well, and the thought of him anywhere near the girl she had been a surrogate mother to made her blood boil. This talk, however, was for Roy.

"Did you mention this? Talk to her? She's got a good head on her shoulders."

"I…can't, Di. I think…I think I might be falling for her," Roy admitted, little boy voice creeping out. 

"Oh sweetie, you fell for her so long ago; I just did not know how to say a thing, when you would not, and she was so caught on Bruce," Dinah murmured. "But you still have to protect her from that man…he's a predator."

"But how?" Roy's voice was anguished with a true inability to see a solution.

""We'll figure something out, Boy-o…have I ever let you down before?" She let the water drain, standing and accepting her towel from behind the curtain when he brought it over.

"Never, Di…never."


	2. Out of the Nest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple of small scenes as Nightwing and company are moving on, and others adjust

Dinah wasn't really surprised to be accosted by Batman as she was surveying the suspiciously quiet harbor district. She'd been expecting it for the last week, actually, and decided she'd let the harbor continue its quietude and focus solely on him. She was damn glad Athena had chosen to patrol in the East End, knowing that she'd be safe from Batman's prying while the Kitty and the Bat were having their off again phase.

"Speedy moved to New York as well?" was Batman's first question, as if he hadn't already learned the young man had leased a rat-hole apartment at the beginning of the month.

"He'd already been considering it, as the New York side was getting heavier. Plus, there's an office of the CBI there, and one from the DEO. Both agencies are willing to hire him on contract. I had to face that he just wasn't ever going to be a good florist," Dinah said in a chipper tone. She was _not_ going to make this easy on the Bat.

"So it was his idea?"

"Oh ho ho, no you don't," Dinah snapped at him swiftly. "Nightwing was already toying with the idea of college and being closer to the team." She wasn't going to admit that the whole idea had made Roy nervous, or that her own nerves were on edge. That damn man Slade Wilson was still lurking around the Titans, training them to fight better, teaching tactics, and everything else he could do to ingratiate himself to the team.

Charitably, she would admit it all benefited the boy Jericho, but she agreed with Roy; there were plans afoot that revolved around seducing Robin.

Batman made a low noise, but did not press on Roy's motives, which was a victory in Dinah's eyes.

"How are you coping?"

//Oh that's the way you're going to turn this, Batsy? Oh honey, you are so wrong, even when you mean so well.// "I miss him. But he's a grown man. Has been for a while. It's time he gets his feet under him, lives his own life. I can see him, or he can see me, on more even, equal terms now," she answered, careful not to weight the words too emotionally. "The birds leave the nest, after all." That might have been a little too pointed, because Batman drew back, standing taller, as if she'd feinted a punch.

"Will you let me know… if you hear anything you think I should?"

"Honey, why on earth won't you just ask her yourself? Make time to call her, maybe once a week. She's your family, B. She needs to understand that just because she's growing up that she's not just another phase of your life, you know!" She knew she'd gotten too personal, pushed a little too hard, but she just wasn't going to let her friend and surrogate daughter get hurt just to save Bruce's feelings.

He tipped his head just slightly. "I'll consider that, Canary."

* * *

Nightwing landed hard but managed to keep moving, not wanting to get tangled in too close by this new threat. Seriously, who had opened up the trick or treat grab bag in New York? It felt like week after week there were new rogues out to make a name for themselves… against her Titans.

Only this night had been a solo patrol, when this goof declaring himself the Condiment King had attacked him with… mustard and ketchup? No, seriously, if she hadn't dodged, those two condiments would be eating her costume away, based on the pavement they'd hit.

The dude was not giving up either, forcing Nightwing to evaluate the terrain, think ahead, and then move to complete her objective. The ground lessons had been laid by Batman, but the intensive work of the last few months under Slade //dammit, don't think about that literally!// had finely honed her abilities.

One lamp post, a wall spring, and a dumpster later, the culprit was on ice for the night, and Nightwing dropped one of the beacons the City Police Department had given the Titans. She got moving swiftly, going up to the roof to wait and make sure no one stole anything off the unconscious perp.

"Damn good," Slade said, nearly startling Nightwing out of her suit. And that image did absolutely nothing to help her keep the blood out of her cheeks.

"Didn't expect to see you out," Nightwing said, turning to see the full orange and blue menace that had become such a valued ally. //And the torture of every night's attempt to sleep… damn that armor is molded… stop, Robin, down girl!//

"A piece of old business cropped up, got it handled, and then heard the fuss over this way," Slade said easily. At Nightwing's frown, Slade did a two shouldered shrug, hands rising and turning palms-upward. "War criminal rumor. Turned out false."

That got Nightwing soothed down, and she nodded. "Alright."

Slade shifted stance, more open and inviting before speaking again. "Since we're both out anyway, I'd say just desserts on that clown down there would be a couple of hot dogs all the way… my treat." 

The suggestion, and that wry twist in Slade's words made Nightwing laugh and nod, even as a little voice in her head whispered that it wasn't a date, no matter how much she wanted it to be.


	3. Turning Points

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The situation from Roy's side gets a little denser.

Roy had only wanted to stop by, see how Robin was doing since the news had caught a bit of her fight with that comical disaster using 'The Condiment King' as his moniker. He didn't think Robin would really need help, but Roy was done with his patrol and maybe a movie would be good to unwind with his best friend.

He stopped just before he knocked on the door, because Robin was laughing. Maybe Kory had…

A deep, masculine laugh answered Robin's, and Roy felt his knees go weak.

That could be only one person, and Robin had let him into her apartment?!

Jealousy warred with concern, almost making Roy knock anyway.

Almost.

After a heartbeat of his hand being raised, Roy turned and left, feeling his chest tighten with each step. Robin had a right to choose, but damn it all, why did it have to hurt so much?

* * *

Slade accepted the water from Robin, his eye still bright with the laughter they had shared. She was completely, confidently in her element here, and Slade was finding that to be too much of an invitation to push the boundaries. He liked seeing her like this, but loved trying to fluster her.

"All alone tonight? No alien princess or bow-slinging buddy?"

Robin flushed a little at the first part, but the second made her make a face and shake her head. "Kory and I, yeah, sometimes, but Roy?" She thought of Roy, thought of all the times shared, of all the ways Roy had always just been there for her… and it shifted something inside her.

This man thought she was involved with her best friend, and right now her heart was wondering why she wasn't. Roy was always there, always the one she turned to, always just who she needed when things went sideways.

Slade, perceptive as he was, realized his questioning of the obvious had opened something inside Robin's thinking. How had the kid been so oblivious to Harper? Was it just a case of being too close? Or was Harper just being that slow to make a move.

"Seemed like he's had a vested interest in you from all I'd seen," Slade drawled casually, weighing her reactions. Harper wasn't a bad kid, and Slade could even see some benefit to trying to pull the archer around to his side, if that was what it took to get Robin.

"He's my best friend, been there all along," Robin told Slade. She then shrugged at him. "Sometimes, there's one person that matters more than you can see. That's Roy."

//Right… change tactics then.// Slade knew about have one that mattered that much. He just wasn't sure if he'd rather wedge them apart, given Harper's antipathy at him, or actually make the effort to bring that impossibly gifted archer into his own clutches.

* * *

Dinah was not unaccustomed to late night (for her) wake-ups, but she was a little grumbly at first because she had Barbara tucked in next to her for a change, thanks to the Commissioner being out of town.

She went to answer the door, brushing a kiss over the sleeping redhead's hair, and grabbing her robe on the way out. It passed through her mind again that maybe she and Babs ought to come clean now that the younger woman was legal in every sense of the word, but the secrecy protected them both in their other lives.

It was Roy at her door, and annoyance shifted to concern. Why was he here, not in New York?

"Boy-o?" She quickly let him in, got the door locked, and then had her arms full of a broken-hearted man. "Oh, boy-o, what's happened?" she asked as he just clung, breathing harshly.

"I think I lost her, Di… he was there, when I went by. I've lost her to him," he managed to say. 

All Dinah could do right now was hold him.


End file.
